WHAT HAPPENS WHEN YOU DIE WITHOUT A LAST WILL & TESTAMENT?

 

    In many instances, I was asked, “Attorney, is it true that if I die without a will, the government will get everything that I own?”  For many times also, I have heard someone giving advice to another, “You should have a will or else kukunin lahat ng gobyerno ang nga ari-arian mo pag ikaw ay namatay na. Kawawa naman ang mga anak mo.”

    Totoo bang mapupunta sa gobyerno ang mga ari-arian mo kung ikaw ay namatay nang walang iniwang last will and testament? Let me qualify my answer. No, if you have legal heirs who are entitled to inherit from you by operation of law. Yes, if you don’t have a single legal heir at all.  Let me explain.

    Under our Philippine law on succession,  which is Chapter III of the Civil Code of the Philippines, kung ang tao ay namatay at siya ay may iniwang will o last will and testament, ang tawag po dyan ay testamentary succession.  As long as the will is valid, both intrinsically at extrinsically, ang will ang masusunod kung paano hahati-hatiin ang mana sa mga tagapagmanang binanggit sa will o huling habilin. 

     Ang ibig sabihin ng “intrinsically valid” ay kung ang nilalaman ng will ay naaayon sa batas.  Halimbawa, dapat walang compulsory heir na na-deprive ng kanyang legitime.  Ang legitime po ay bahagi ng inheritance na naka-reserve sa compulsory heir at hindi ito pwedeng balewalain ng nagpapamana o testator, maliban na lang kung may sapat sya na dahilan upang tanggalan ito ng mana at ginawa ang pagtanggal ng mana o pag-disinherit doon mismo sa last will and testament.  

·       Ang ibig sabihin naman ng “extrinsically valid” ay kung ang will ay ginawa ng naaayon sa formal requirements ng batas. Halimbawa, kung ito ay holographic will, dapat sulat kamay ito ng testator o yung nagpamana. Meaning, entirely handwritten. Otherwise, hindi ito valid.  Kung notarial will naman ito, dapat may mga instrumental witnesses ito na nakapirma sa lahat ng pages ng will, without which, hindi rin ito valid. Marami po ang requirements ng notarial will and you will really need the help of a lawyer there because it must be notarized.

     Now, kung ang tao naman ay namatay nang walang last will and testament, ang tawag naman dito ay “intestate succession”.  The same is true kung ang last will and testament was found by the court to be invalid.  In both cases, ang magiging basehan ng paghahati-hati ng mana at kung sinu-sino lang ang entitled na magmana ay ang batas — in this case, the Civil Code of the Philippines.

     Nakasaad kasi sa Civil Code kung sinu-sino ang mga legal heirs. And these legal heirs have the option whether to settle the estate extrajudicially or judicially.

    Kung walang utang na iniwan ang namatay, mas mainam ang extrajudicial partition of estate because it is not as complicated, as tedious and as costly as the judicial settlement or partition.  Kung nag-iisa lang ang tagapagmana, ang tawag doon sa dokumentong kailangan nyang i-execute to settle the estate ay affidavit of self-adjudication.

     Going back to the legal heirs — who are they?  Sila po yung mga heirs na entitled na magmana according to the order of succession.  Let me give you an overview of who they are and how it works, but I cannot discuss all the details in this video as it will need a very long discussion.

• Unang-una ay yung mga nasa descending direct line. Sila yung mga children and their descendants.  Meaning, yung mga anak at ang mga apo. Pababa po yan.
• Pangalawa, kung walang child or descendant, ang magmamana ay yung mga nasa ascending direct line, such as the parents or in their default, the grandparents.  Mga magulang o ang mga lolo at lola. Pataas naman po yan.
•  Pangatlo, kung walang legitimate children, ang mga illegitimate children. Pwede pong magmana pareho o nang sabay ang legitimate children at illegitimate children, pero may mga rules po to be followed. For example, the illegitimate child is entitled only to ½ of the share of the legitimate child.
•  Pang-apat, ang surviving spouse o yung asawa ng namatay. Pero pwede pong sabay na magmamana ang asawa ng namatay with the legitimate children or their descendants, or with the ascendants or with illegitimate children. May mga rules din po na susundin but I will expound on that in another video.
•  Panlima, ang mga collateral relatives who could be the brothers and sisters. The collateral relatives who can inherit are only those up to 5th degree of consanguinity, which means related by blood.  Meaning, hanggang nephews and nieces.

    Tandaan nyo po ang rule dito: Hindi po lahat entitled magmana.  Ang relative na pinakamalapit in degree doon sa namatay will exclude the more distant ones. According to the Civil Code of the Philippines:

"Art. 962. In every inheritance, the relative nearest in degree excludes the more distant ones, saving the right of representation when it properly takes place.

Relatives in the same degree shall inherit in equal shares, subject to the provisions of article 1006 with respect to relatives of the full and half blood, and of Article 987, paragraph 2, concerning division between the paternal and maternal lines. (912a)"

 Meaning, kung buhay lahat ng mga anak, hindi kasali ang mga apo sa magmamana because the children being the ones nearest exclude the grandchildren. A grandchild can inherit along with the children of the deceased if that grandchild takes the place of his or her deceased parent.  Ang tawag po dito ay representation.

    

    Isa pang halimbawa, kung ang tanging heirs ay ang mga kapatid at mga pamangkin, the brothers and sisters will exclude the nephews and nieces, except in cases where the nephew or the niece represents his or her deceased parent.

     As you have noticed in our discussion, hindi pumapasok ang government where there is at least one legal heir who is entitled to inherit from the deceased ab intestado.  The state or the government will step in only when there is no one else who qualifies to inherit from the deceased.  The Civil Code states that:

 

"Art. 961. In default of testamentary heirs, the law vests the inheritance, in accordance with the rules hereinafter set forth, in the legitimate and illegitimate relatives of the deceased, in the surviving spouse, and in the State. (913a)"

 

"SUBSECTION 6. - The State

 

"Art. 1011. In default of persons entitled to succeed in accordance with the provisions of the preceding Sections, the State shall inherit the whole estate. (956a)"

    Needless to say, it is not correct to say that the all the property of the deceased person will go to the government if he or she dies without a will.

    This could have resulted from a confusion or misinterpretation.  The word “estate” and “state” are different. Ang sinasabi po ng batas is that, kung ang isang tao ay namatay, all the property that a deceased person leaves behind shall form part of the estate.  And this estate shall be distributed to the qualified heirs of the deceased person, whether through a testamentary succession or intestate succession.

     Now, do you really need a last will and testament?  Well, it depends on you. If you think that the law is already fair enough in the determination of the heirs and in the apportionment of the inheritance, then, there is no need to execute a will. 

    But if you want to decide on who gets more of the free portion of the inheritance, then, you need a will. Remember, you can dispose only of the free portion of the inheritance.  You cannot deprive your compulsory heirs of their legitimes unless you disinherit them for a valid ground, also in your will.

     I hope that you learned something from this article. Always remember, ignorance of the law excuses no one from compliance therewith.  Ingat po kayo.